Every now and then, I take an actual week off. I back away from all things baseball — and blogging — to recharge the batteries a little bit. One of those weeks begins tomorrow.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I’m taking this Thanksgiving week off to spend some time with my family. I’ll be back in the mix next Monday after a little bit of vacation time. While I’m gone, some familiar names from the Journal News sports department will be handling the blog. I’m going to be far, far away and don’t expect to be in front of a computer too often.

Don’t forget that the American League MVP will be announced tomorrow. I actually had an MVP vote this season. I’m not allowed to reveal my ballot until the results are announced — maybe I’ll talk about my picks next week — but I will say that in the final two or three weeks of the season, my ballot probably changed two dozen times. It was a tough call. At different points I had four different players in the top spot.

Regardless of how I voted, my gut feeling is that Jose Bautista will ultimately win. I think that largely because I believe the Justin Verlander votes will be all over the place — several votes for him to win, several votes with him much lower — but I expect Bautista will be near the top on the majority of ballots. A bunch of first, second and third-place votes could add up for him. I think Curtis Granderson will get some first-place votes, but I see him finishing between second and fourth.

Anyway, I hope everyone out there has a great Thanksgiving. If you’re not able to spend the holiday with family, I hope you spend it surrounded by people you love. Enjoy the week, everyone. See you in a few days.